Shells?

[Sarai Viveros 1K]

Hello,
Can someone explain shells to me? Chapter 2 says, " In a one-electron atom, all atomic orbitals with the same value of the principal quantum number n have the same energy and are said to belong to the same shell of the atom". What does this mean?

[Mohamad Farhat 1L]

from my understanding, principle quantum number, describes the energy level of the electron that its located in. example, if an electron lies on the first energy level then the electrons principle number is n=1. hope this is helpful.

[Sarai Viveros 1K]

That makes sense. Thank you

[Ashley Martinez 1G]

Electron shells help determine energy levels. The shells closest to the nucleus have a lower energy level than those farther from the nucleus. Electrons can move from shell to shell by absorbing or releasing energy. Personally, referencing Bohr's model while reading this section in the textbook helped make the concept less abstract and I'd recommend doing this if you're having trouble conceptualizing it like I was.

[vivianndo_1L]

So are shells and energy levels interchangeable?

[Jaedyn_Birchmier3F]

Shells are otherwise known as energy levels which are what the letter n represents. For example hydrogen only has one electron. Meaning it can only have one shell which would be considered the first energy level or n=1. On the other hand, an atom of an element with more electrons like sodium which has 3 shells otherwise known as 3 energy levels (n=3).

[Summer de Vera 2C]

I know that the s-, p-, d-, and f- represent how many electrons can fit in a certain shell, but would anyone also know why they're specifically labelled those letters? Does it stand for something ?

[Lydia Luong 4L]

I know that the s-, p-, d-, and f- represent how many electrons can fit in a certain shell, but would anyone also know why they're specifically labelled those letters? Does it stand for something ?

The letters stand for sharp, principal, diffuse, and fundamental, but I wouldn't worry about knowing that, as long as you know how to use spdf.